Development Nears Malmstrom: Concerned citizens in the area around Malmstrom AFB, Mont., are worried that new retail proposals may jeopardize any chance the base would have to sustain a flying operation, reports the Great Falls Tribune. Malmstrom lost its KC-135 tanker mission in 1996 (a victim of BRAC 1995). Now, its sole primary mission is ICBMs, but some want to ensure the door is left open to resume flying operations. After all, the Minuteman III ICBM mission may well be history by 2020.
The Air Force plans to finalize an acquisition strategy for its new Looking Glass nuclear command, control, and communications program by September—part of a prelude to a significant increase in the service’s NC3 spending in the coming years.